Column by Alexandra Mertsalova about unfulfilled promises of developers

High-profile initiatives by parliamentarians are often not implemented, but almost always arise as a response to accumulated problems. A recent example is a bill prepared by deputies from “New People” obliging developers to “fulfill their advertising promises that are not specified in equity participation agreements (EPA).” The initiators of the project cite the example of St. Petersburg and the Leningrad region, where in 78.1% of cases the projects do not have the infrastructure promised in advertising.

But sometimes the developer has to be responsible for beautiful pictures. Thus, the developer of the residential complex “Breathing” in Krasnodar was brought to justice by the local Federal Antimonopoly Service for violating the law on advertising based on a complaint from apartment buyers who never received IP intercoms, a barbecue recreation area and Wi-Fi in the yard.

The renderings shown at the launch of sales really paint a rosy picture, encouraging people to make deals. The real obligations of the developer to the buyer are written down in the DDU, which contains references to the project documentation, but changes may be made to it after the conclusion of the transaction, explains Daniil Sinitsyn, partner of the Poverennyy Kommersant company.

It is not easy to substantiate claims for non-compliance with project documentation, so there are practically no such proceedings. Moreover, the appearance of the courtyards of the residential complex described by the developers as part of the advertising campaign is, in principle, not fixed in the project.

The most vulnerable people in terms of developers’ promises are apartment buyers. Their properties are not subject to improvement standards for ordinary houses. But in advertising brochures they often appear as “residential complexes.” This is how, for example, one of the scandalous long-term construction projects in Moscow was positioned – the Oktyabr club house.

There will be no fewer conflicts: the terms of preferential mortgages encourage people to buy housing in new buildings. But how to solve the problem? In the United States, advertising requirements are written into the code of ethics of the National Association of Realtors, calling for only truthful information to be conveyed to buyers. “New People” expects to act more harshly, recognizing the information disseminated by developers as a public offer.

But the measure is unlikely to solve the problem as long as officials strive to introduce facilities faster for the sake of accountability. The proposed regulation will barely affect local authorities: during the construction of a large residential complex, they can build a road instead of the planned landscaped courtyard, as is often the case in Moscow. Therefore, buyers do not have much choice – either secondary housing or surprises on the new building market.